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Abstract #154357

Chiyoe Murata, PhD, MPH¹, Katsunori Kondo, PhD, MD², Toshiyuki Ojima³, Yoshitaka Saito, PhD⁴, Kei Suemori, PhD², and Hiroshi Hirai². (1) Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Hamamatsu-shi, 431-3192, Japan, 81-53-435-2333, cmurata@hama-med.ac.jp, (2) Department of Health Welfare, Nihon Fukushi University, Okuda, Mihama-cho, Chita-gun, Aichi, 470-3295, Japan, (3) Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama 1-20-1, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan, (4) Faculty of Service Management, Bunri University of Hospitality, 311-1 Kashiwabara-Shinden, Sayama, Saitama, 350-1336, Japan

Studies indicated that being married has a protective effect on health. However, as for marital quality, such effect is less clear. To investigate the association of marital status/quality with depression among the elderly, we used a cross-sectional data (N=8294, mean age: 74 years) from three communities in Japan. Those scored higher than 5 in 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) were considered being depressed. Mean GDS scores were 3.74 and 3.66 for married men and women, while such scores were 4.81 and 4.21 for widowed/separated/never married men and women, respectively. Logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the association of marital status with depression. Widowed/separated/never married elderly had higher odds for depression than married counterparts even after adjustment for age in years, illnesses, higher level of activities of daily living, and educational background. Odds ratios were 2.01 (p<0.001) and 1.23 (p<0.05) for men and women, respectively. Further analyses indicated that quality of marriage had a stronger association with depression. Those who were dissatisfied with their marriages were more likely to be depressed than widowed/separated/never married elderly with odds ratios of 2.30 (p<0.10) and 3.26 (p<0.01) for men and women, respectively, even after adjustment for possible confounders. Our results indicate the importance of the quality of marriage for mental health of the elderly. Factors associated with marital dissatisfaction needs to be further investigated to understand the old age depression.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, audience will
• 1. Recognize the importance of marital quality for psychological well-being among the elderly
• 2. Discuss gender differences in the factors associated with depression

Keywords: Aging, Depression

Awards: James G. Zimmer New Investigator Research Award (less than 5 years after completing terminal degree) - Honorable Mention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.